Riko trembled all over.
Did she want to die?
Ever since she was old enough to understand, people around her told her she was born to assimilate with Master Tengen.
She desperately suppressed her desire to live, using her chuunibyou act and cheerfulness to disguise her fear, constantly hypnotizing herself that this was a glorious mission.
But when that veil was pierced, the most authentic voice in her heart began to scream frantically.
"I..."
Riko's eyes turned red, and tears welled up. She tightly gripped the hem of her sailor uniform, her knuckles turning white.
"I don't want to die..."
She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Though her voice trembled, she said the truth she had suppressed for fourteen years.
"I want to be with Kuroi forever! I want to go to Harajuku to eat crepes! I want to go to high school and university! I don't want to become someone else!"
Listening to her tearful protest, Misato covered her mouth, also bursting into tears.
Suguru fell silent.
Looking at the sobbing Riko, his creed of "protecting the weak" suffered a violent tremor at this moment.
Satoru scratched his hair irritably and gave a light click of his tongue.
"Did you hear that, you two bodyguards?"
Yamada put his hands back into his trench coat pockets and turned to look at the silent pair.
"Since the person involved is unwilling, this forced transaction is null and void."
He stepped to Riko's side, declaring his sovereignty in an irrefutable manner, "From now on, I'm protecting this girl's life."
"If Tengen is short on batteries, let him go catch a couple of Cursed Spirits on the street to munch on. If anyone dares to target her or force her to her death..."
Yamada looked at Satoru and Suguru, his lips curling into a cold, sharp arc.
"You can try and see if the bones of your Jujutsu World higher-ups are harder, or if my sword is sharper."
Riko slumped to the ground, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. Years of suppressed emotions finally found an outlet in this moment.
Misato knelt beside her, holding her tightly, as the two of them wept together.
Near the ruins not far away, Satoru, whose defense had been shattered by Yamada's single strike, had now shed his previous state of defeat. He pushed his small round sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose, concealing those "Six Eyes" that were shining with an alarming intensity due to extreme excitement.
"Hey."
With his hands in his pockets, Satoru didn't show any shame or anger from being overpowered. Instead, like a curious child who had discovered a new continent, he swaggered over to Yamada.
"You are a bit ridiculously strong. That move just now, completely ignoring my Infinity to touch my shoulder, was cool as hell. Even those Special Grade Cursed Tools the old men brag about can't do that."
Satoru leaned in closer, his face almost touching the tip of Yamada's nose.
"But I'm curious."
Satoru pointed at the still-weeping Riko. "A person as strong as you could flip the entire Jujutsu World upside down with just a bit of effort. You're not related to this Star Plasma Vessel girl, and you probably haven't even met her before today, right?"
"Since you're not one of those lunatics from the Star Religious Group who want her dead, and you're not bodyguards like us who took a mission... then what exactly are you after? Could it be that you're some ancient swordsman living in seclusion who heard a little girl crying and rushed out to play the hero?"
Satoru's tone held a hint of mockery, but the look in his eyes behind the sunglasses was exceptionally vigilant, trying to catch any trace of a lie from Yamada's micro-expressions.
To the side, Suguru also dropped his defensive stance, looking at Yamada with a complex gaze.
This was also the question he wanted to ask. In this Jujutsu World filled with curses and exchanges of interest, there was never any kindness without reason.
A mysterious powerhouse with overwhelming strength suddenly appearing to protect the Star Plasma Vessel—if there wasn't some deeper scheme, no one would believe it.
Hearing this question, Yamada glanced at Satoru and took half a step back, creating distance with a look of distaste.
"Playing the hero? Have you been reading too many manga?"
"People die every day in this world, and innocent people are eaten by Cursed Spirits every day. If I tried to save every single one, I'd have died of exhaustion long ago."
"As for why I saved her? The reason is simple."
"Because I'm bored."
"Huh?" Satoru and Suguru were stunned at the same time.
"This world is too uninteresting."
Yamada put his hands back into his pockets, his tone flat. "Those decaying 'old oranges' in the higher-ups of your Jujutsu World have established a set of self-righteous, 'clever' bullshit rules. They stuff a young girl who knows nothing into a barrier to act as a battery, then comfortably enjoy the so-called 'peace' brought by that barrier."
"This kind of self-evident hypocrisy makes me a bit sick to my stomach."
Yamada glanced at Riko, a wicked smile curling his lips. "So, I wanted to throw a big rock into their perfect plan. To flip over the chessboard they've so meticulously arranged and see those old fogies looking exasperated yet unable to do anything to me."
"That's all. Purely to kill time and find some fun."
Dead silence.
Satoru and Suguru stared wide-eyed at the man before them.
Not for any great cause, nor for any grand desire to change the world.
Simply because he "didn't like the look of it," because he was "bored," he was willing to single-handedly defy the highest will of the entire Jujutsu World.
What arrogance! What madness!
But these words surprisingly suited Satoru's taste.
"Hahahahaha!"
Satoru clutched his stomach and laughed wildly without restraint. He laughed until tears almost came out, repeatedly slapping Suguru's shoulder.
"Suguru! Did you hear that? This guy said the old men's rules are worse than bullshit! That's exactly my style! I've been annoyed with those higher-up guys for a long time! Using Amanai as a human battery—I thought that was disgusting from the very beginning!"
Suguru sighed helplessly, brushing off Satoru's hand.
Although he had always held himself to the "righteousness" of protecting non-sorcerers, seeing Riko's heart-wrenching cries today had caused a crack to appear in his solid inner defense.
If it was to protect the weak, then defying the higher-ups' decision... didn't seem impossible.
"Hey, old man."
Satoru finished laughing and straightened up, the arrogance on his face receding slightly, replaced by a rare seriousness.
"Since you're also here to find some fun, then this Star Plasma Vessel—we at Jujutsu High will protect her too."
Satoru pointed to himself, then to Suguru. "Suguru and I are the strongest. Our original mission was to escort her to the Tombs of the Star Corridor for assimilation. But we discussed it before coming—if this girl doesn't want to, we'll take her away even if it means turning against Master Tengen."
Suguru pushed back the bangs on his forehead, a look of determination in his narrow eyes. "Satoru is right. We are bodyguards and sorcerers. But more than that, we are human. Since Amanai wants to live, then we will return her to the world of ordinary people, whole and sound."
Listening to the resounding declarations of these two high schoolers, Yamada raised an eyebrow.
As expected of the strongest duo who, at this point in time in the original story, still retained their passion and purity.
Even knowing they were making an enemy of the world's rules, they could make a choice without hesitation.
It was just a pity that in the original story, their purity was eventually crushed into powder by Toji's blade and the cruel reality, leading to a tragic ending.
But now, the script had to change.
"The strongest? A guy who couldn't even take one hit from me just now deserves to be called the strongest?"
Yamada ruthlessly exposed his weakness, making Satoru jump in frustration.
"That's because you cheated! And I haven't used my full strength yet!"
"Enough. Since our goals are the same, take the person and get back to your Jujutsu High."
Yamada interrupted Satoru's excuses and glanced at the wall crushed by the Rainbow Dragon.
"The Star Religious Group put a thirty million bounty on this girl's head. Today, these were just two small fry testing the waters. The real trouble is yet to come."
"You're responsible for taking this girl back to a safe place. As for those assassins and curse users who come sniffing around..."
A bloodthirsty red glint flashed in Yamada's eyes. "Leave them to me. I just happen to be short of a few punching bags that can make me break a little sweat."
Hearing this arrogant arrangement, Satoru curled his lip. "You're taking all the glory. Doesn't that make us just errand-running nannies?"
"You can also choose to stay. I don't mind teaching you what true Space Shatter is again."
Satoru shut his mouth instantly.
Recalling the feeling of powerlessness when his defense was instantly dismantled, he didn't want to experience it a second time.
Moreover, he keenly sensed that the man before him truly didn't take those assassins seriously.
"Amanai, Kuroi-san, let's go."
Suguru walked over to the two of them and gently reached out his hand. "Leave this to him. We'll take you to a safe place."
Riko wiped her tears and looked at Yamada's tall, straight back. In her previously despairing heart, a sense of security like never before suddenly arose. It felt as if as long as this man was there, even if the sky fell, she wouldn't have to be afraid anymore.
"Thank you... old man." Riko said in a small voice.
Yamada stumbled, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"I'm only twenty years old this year." He corrected through gritted teeth.
However, the only response he got was Satoru's unrestrained, gloating laughter.
***
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